


D-men

by Kirrtash, Shnuggletea



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, InuParents - Freeform, InuParents Day 2021, Romance, cell mates prequel, cell mates universe, how to make a hanyou
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28790505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirrtash/pseuds/Kirrtash, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shnuggletea/pseuds/Shnuggletea
Summary: A prequel to Cell Mates. Among the shadows crawl forces no human is aware of. Izayoi is just now starting to realize this, while her lab work grows more dangerous with every new discovery. Where are all those puzzling samples coming from? And who, or what, exactly, is the mysterious man with golden eyes they just brought in?
Relationships: Inu no Taishou/Izayoi
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I am not the author of this fic but merely the art person, so I'm sharing here (with full permission) the amazing work from Shnuggletea, which you can also find on her Tumblr and Patreon!  
> This fic and the connected art form myself were created for the 2021 Inuparents day event!  
> I love this fic and all the world building Shnuggletea has done for it, and I hope you enjoy it as well!  
> If you want to leave a comment, please visit @shnuggletea and me (@kirrtash) on Tumblr!

Chapter One

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

It was a cold night. The kind that made your skin tense as soon as you stepped out into it. It also had a tendency to make a man’s scrotum shrivel and seek warmth. Not something they liked to talk about… usually.

“God damn it’s cold! My balls are up my ass!” Toga said at a level that made it even more inappropriate.

Miya shook his head, the image of Toga dancing on his toes to stay warm filling his brain. “How unpleasant that must be for you…”

“No, seriously! And those are big balls…”

Sitting back from his scope, the Monk pulled his shoulder-length black strands back and tied them there. “Just because we’re on comms doesn’t mean you have to talk so loud. No one is supposed to know you’re there, remember?”

“Right, right, right,” Toga was silent save for his huffing, warming up his hands with his breath, “still fucking cold though…”

“For fucks sake, aren’t you a demon? The temperature shouldn’t bother you!”

Pulling the sight around, Miya zeroed in on the loud mouth, shifting on his toes just as he knew Toga would be. He lifted his gold eyes right at him, somehow knowing Miya had turned his sights onto him. “Yeah, I’m a dog demon. I’m just as if not more sensitive to cold than insensitive humans like you!”

“Say that a little louder, I don’t think the old lady across the street from you heard it.”

“She needs new batteries in her hearing aid…”

“You couldn’t possibly know that!”

“I do, she just told the Shopkeep when she went inside.”

“Can you focus? Use that extra sensitive hearing to find our target?!”

“Can’t find what’s not there, Miya.”

“Then keep searching, Toga!!”

It was silent again but only for a second. “Now who’s being too loud…” Miya growled, getting to his feet and pacing away to kick something. “Calm down, you’re going to have a stroke.”

“Why the hell do I put up with you?”

Miya didn’t need to see Toga to know he was smirking. “Cause I’m the best. And who else you got? Myouga?” As much as he didn’t want to, a laugh sputtered loudly out of him, one the dog demon would have heard even without their comms. “See? You need me and I need you. Now get back to your post.”

Sighing and groaning, he did as ordered; laying down on the cold pavement of the thirty-story building he was perched on. He wasn’t an idiot, Toga placed him this high to keep him ‘safe’ if they found who/what they were looking for. It had been over an hour but Miya knew better than to question Toga’s judgment. Or Myouga’s intel.

Toga was cursing the inconvenience of it all. Winter was by far his least favorite season and he swore the others knew it too. It was why they waited until the middle of the season and hours after sunset to pull this crap. It was all to mess with Toga and nothing anyone said would change his mind about that. The heat from playing with Miya flooded out quickly so he was back to bouncing on his toes. It made his two blades smack against his thighs but that was a nice distraction from the cold as well.

Black toboggan on his head was large enough to cover his ears and his long silvery-white hair covered his neck. But it was his fucking hands and feet, his fingers and toes numb with cold.

He hated cold feet.

Humans passed and didn’t even glance in his direction. And why would they? Humans had no clue of his existence. Him or anyone similar (like Miya) were a secret from the world. Even though Miya was far from a demon; he wasn’t human either. It was that difference that had Toga placing Miya on the high building and far from the fight. If there was even a fight to be had.

He wouldn’t be surprised if this was all a rouse to force him to stand out in the cold all damn night!

That was until he smelled it. “Miya… they’re here.”

“You’re sure?”

Toga glanced upward towards the tiny dot. If he were human, he wouldn’t be able to see the agitation on Miya’s face. But he wasn’t human and it was always there. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

He moved to the outer edge of the alley he hid in and glanced around. “Toga, get back! I’m here to scout not you!”

“Even with that scope you still see shit.”

“Toga, it’s an order! Get back!!”

“I’ll be fi….”

Toga was cut off, ice splitting up from his feet towards his heart. Leaping back, he avoided impalement with relative ease. When he found the perpetrator, Toga didn’t hold back his laugh in the slightest. “Good to see you too, Snowflake.”

The cat demon was growling at him and it had just as much to do with the fact that she was a cat and him a dog as it did that he called her ‘Snowflake’. “That’s not my name!!”

“Right, right, right. What was it again?” Toga teased.

If she wasn’t wearing a black hoodie that covered up all her fur, it would be standing up in anger. “It’s Toran, prick!!”

She slung out her arm and ice followed in a path along the ground. Toga stepped to the side to avoid it; making it seem like child’s play. “Well that’s not very nice. At least my nickname for you is a term of endearment. Yours sounds like an insult.”

Toga had his lower lip popped out and Toran roared, pissed. “IT IS AN INSULT!!!”

Glancing around, Toga saw that his little distraction had worked; the street was clear of all possible casualties. They had all seen the display the kitty cat had made and smartly left the area. Which was good because now Toran was tearing up the whole area with her rage; jagged and angry ice breaking up the sidewalk and pavement as it shot upward without warning.

Toga jumped and dodged it all, keeping his hands in his pockets. “Ice. Just had to be ice.”

The already frigid air was made much colder with the glacier that surrounded them. A small arena of sorts, Toga released a slow breath and watched the white puff float away.

Toran broke out of her thoughts of murder for a moment and spun to find him; realizing quickly (but too late) that it was just the two of them now. “What have you done?!”

“Me? You’re the one creating your own ice castle. You know, for an Ice Queen, you sure are hot headed.”

Toga smirked while the cat hissed, throwing out her arm again. Only this time the ice didn’t form on the ground. It shot out of her hand like a missle; long and sharp like a spear. Aimed right at his heart.

He moved out of its way with little struggle. “Careful there Snowflake! Pretty sure your Boss didn’t order you to kill me!”

Toran shuddered and then turned her head back and forth to work out the tension. “No. Not not you.”

The smirk that grew on her face had Toga dropping his. Spinning on his feet was a pointless gesture, they had comms after all. “Miya! Look out!!”

This was why Toran’s attacks were lackluster and easy to dodge. He had thought she was holding back to keep from killing him. But no, it was because her attention and powers were split; ice racing up the front of the building Miya perched on. It shot out of the top in deadly spikes completely destroying the top floors of the short tower. And Miya was silent. Myouga hadn’t told them the target but given the location Toga had assumed it was a human they were after. And he was half right.

“He’s a human with demon powers. Powers that are extremely dangerous for demons; a Black Hole. Why you’ve allowed him to not only live but also stay by your side is a wonder, Fighting Fang. He shouldn’t be allowed to live…”

“Miya has lived just fine by mine and your side for a time. You pick now, of all, times to kill him?!” Toga screamed.

Toran’s smirk grew to a grin and she shrugged. “Orders are orders.”

“Oh?” They both turned and found the monk, a little out of breath, but with his sniper rifle on one arm and his hand out at the ready. “Good to know my life is worth so little. But I knew that already.”

Toga rolled his eyes at the drama queen. Miya had his fist closed tight but the runes that covered the cursed hand were removed. He was ready to kill.

“You won’t do that! Not with Fighting Fang so close! You don’t have the control to suck up only me!” Toran said while shaking with her fear.

Miya tilted his head to the side at her and glanced over at Toga. “That’s true. But he’s such a pain in the ass…”

“HEY!”

The monk used the small distraction to whip his rifle up and fire. He got Snowflake in the upper thigh and she released a loud whimper mixed with a roar. The shot to the leg didn’t slow her down as she leaped away over her ice walls.

Toga turned back to his friend, a lopsided grin on his face. “I knew you wouldn’t risk it, buddy.”

“I should have. She got away.”

Now at his side in a flash, Toga clapped a hand on Miya’s shoulder. “You got her in the leg! Without aiming!!”

“I was aiming. For her gut. I missed.”

“But not completely!”

Miya pulled away roughly from his friend and surveyed the damage. “Those nosy people are going to have a cornry when they get word of this.”

“Speaking of, we should get out of here. I’m sure they’re already on their way.”

Toga grabbed Miya by the collar and hoisted them both to another high building; one not destroyed and closer to the scene below. It was a mixture of cops and men in lab coats. Toga didn’t know how much Miya could make out from their distance but he was sure the ones in lab coats were the ones that were at the last mess they made. They had no other branding on them; not even on the vans they went around it. One in particular was hard to miss; his long black ponytail stood out amongst the others. And he was becoming a constant in their lives.

He was becoming a problem.

oOo

“Izayoi, take a look at this for me please.”

Setting down her notes and her pencil, Izayoi straightened her lab coat as she made her way to her colleague’s microscope. Quickly, she pulled back and tied her long black locks out of her way and leaned over. Her colleague had stepped back out of her way and said nothing; so there was no bias.

“This can’t be right. It appears… deformed.”

“Right? I thought so too!”

Stepping back, Izayoi took the sample’s file and began reading. “It says here it was taken from an incident on fifth and Topsail last night? But it doesn’t say anything about the incident or those involved.”

The woman next to her nodded in silence and Izayoi handed her back the file, hurriedly leaving the lab to the one down and across the hall. The man she was looking for was directing boxes that looked like they were filled with ice of all things. He glanced up at her and quickly signed the form in his hands and pushed the attendant off hurriedly. “Dr. Hime, how are you finding your new lab?”

Izayoi shook her head. “It’s fine, Dr. Setsuna, but I’m here about the samples you sent us?”

“What about them?”

“Well… what are they?!”

He chuckled at her and she felt her blood rise to her temples. “That’s your job to figure out, isn’t it?”

“Sir, all science aside, it’s difficult to ascertain much from a few drops of blood when we know so little about it…”

“Run it through the database and see if you get a match.”

She squeezed the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Izayoi liked her job, she really did, until it started to become some kind of cloak and dagger operation and Takemaru got promoted. “We already did that and it came up with nothing.”

“Of course it did.” Takemaru mused quietly.

“Excuse me?”

Izayoi’s attention shot up to her boss but he shook his head with a fake smile. “Nothing. Just mark everything that you find in what you have, Izayoi.”

She turned and left quickly; part in frustration but also because it bothered her greatly when Takemaru spoke informally to her. Just because he was her boss now didn’t mean it was appropriate. Quite the opposite. With so much more going on, Izayoi let it go. For now.

Back in her lab and feeling safe, she looked over the blood sample again. Five had been taken and although they all looked the same they had different locations marked in their file. Izayoi looked again, taking the sample her colleague had away from her (and she was gracious to have it off her plate too). Switching back and forth, Izayoi looked over the DNA results again. They were inconclusive; the only recognizable strands reminded her of feline DNA while the rest were mutated or something. But she noticed one thing; although from different locations the blood was from the same person.

“Maybe the cat DNA is the answer?” She asked herself. The lab was empty as Izayoi got lost in her task.

Even though all the same, she didn’t want to risk any more contamination, taking each sample and amplifying them. Polymerase Chain Reaction took a few hours so Izayoi left for the small cafeteria (more like a break room with a coffee maker and vending machines) for a cup of coffee. She had taken a seat at the small table in the middle when bodies hustled hurriedly past the door.

Leaving her cup behind, Izayoi leapt to her feet and followed as fast as she could behind the small group of overly excited Scientist. They went to the loading bay which was odd in itself. The loading bay was for supplies like chemicals and printing paper. Nothing exciting came through here except when her new genetic analyzer arrived. Izayoi doubted this many were excited over something like that. It was also far too late for a delivery; already nearing ten pm.

Standing off to the side, she hid as she watched the large armoured car as it backed into the loading dock. A few men in police uniform hopped out; Izayoi’s confusion and curiosity increased at the sight. One opened the back doors while the other stood right behind, his weapon up and armed.

Everything that Izayoi could have possibly imagined dropped to the floor and shattered as a man walked off the truck. His long silver hair was pulled back and swung as he looked around at the group of men that surrounded him. It was pretty.

Izayoi shook her head of the thought, focusing on the man. His red jacket and dark jeans hid his body from her but he looked normal otherwise. He had drawn purple streaks on his face just under his eyes for some reason. She couldn’t see his eyes from where she hid or make out many details of his face but the purple was hard to miss.

Her eyes traveled down to his hands; cuffed in front of him. He had long, sharp looking nails. And they looked thick and dangerous even from a distance. Her thoughts were interrupted when the man lifted his joined wrists and held his hands up. Everyone jumped except her as she watched with rapt attention; intrigued to just what the man was going to say.

“I come in peace.”

Her eyes rolled instantly and she let out a loud huff. What the hell was this guy even doing here? And why was the staff of Takemaru’s lab about to wet themselves with excitement?

She hadn’t seen him the entire time, too focused on the ‘specimen’ on the truck, but now Takemaru stood before the strange man with a wicked looking grin. He looked over the man in cuffs but said nothing to him, turning to his men who salivated behind. “Take him to the lab.”

They didn’t take the usual hallway. Instead they took the man the back way designed for deliveries. Izayoi stepped back and completely out of sight; sneaking down the hall and back to her lab. When the noise from Takemaru’s lab reached hers, she slowly left hers again and snuck down the hall. When she peeked inside, there was nothing out of the ordinary so she straightened herself and walked right in. Only to be stopped by Takemaru.

“Dr. Hime? What are you doing here?”

“I work here.” She said plainly. “I’m still working on those samples you gave me…”

“Oh there’s no rush. You don’t need to worry about them anymore.” He said, waving a hand at her like it was no big deal.

“I don’t need to worry?! Sir, I spent all day running them. I’m not about to drop them…”

“Fine, Izayoi, you do what you need to. In your lab.”

He was kicking her out and she resisted the urge to run from the informality; stretching on her toes to look around him instead. “Did you get a new project?”

Takemaru swayed and moved in her way more, blocking her view completely from spying the back of his lab. “It’s ‘need to know’.”

Izayoi seethed. Ever since Takemaru got promoted (over her) he acted like it was some kind of ‘boy’s club’. That’s what it was, all the men in the room moving around without issue while she was stuck in the doorway. She was sure that was how Takemaru got promoted instead of herself. Even with a few women on the board it was very much a ‘man’s world’ in the lab as of late. As much as it pissed her off they did give her a nice raise. And she loved her work as well as those who worked in her lab.

She would put up with it for now until a better offer came along. As it stood, this was the only lab in town that could handle her caliber of study. Didn’t mean she had to pretend she was okay with it, huffing as she turned on her heel. “Whatever, Dr. Setsuna. Enjoy your new toy.”

Let them think they’re keeping their secrets. Izayoi was sure she would figure them out soon. She hated secrets. Secrets and liars her two main pet peeves. It was the reason she became a scientist. To discover all the secrets the world held and to uncover any lies. This was all just another mystery for her to unravel.

And unravel, she would.


	2. Chapter 2

As far as cells went, this was far from the worst Toga had ever been in. After all, he’d been married once. 

He laughed at the joke inside his head; even Miya would have laughed at that one. The monk was nearby, watching and waiting. Or he was supposed to be. The whole point of allowing these humans to capture him was so they would know where they were and what they knew. And just how many of them there were. 

It wasn’t just for his kind, it was for the humans as well. If MiLady and her croons discovered this place first then they would blow it up and call it a gas leak. Accidents tended to happen to humans that knew too much.

Toga wasn’t surprised his weapons were taken but they took his clothes too! Including his jacket! More than just for warmth, the fire rat robes it was made of kept his chest from being easily pierced. It was his armor and he very much wanted it back. Especially with the guys in lab coats coming in close and carrying needles.

He hated needles.

“Are we sure these will even work?” A skinny one with thick glasses asked.

They all looked at the tall guy with long hair. He was the one that ‘greeted’ Toga when he arrived. They’re boss, Toga didn’t so much as sit a little straighter as the tall man stood before him. The only thing that separated them was a thick layer of glass. Did they think the caution stickers on the front of the glass somehow made it stronger? None of them seemed to realize that, if he didn’t want to be here, it would be nothing for him to leave their small prison.

“What’s your name?” The man asked.

Toga eyed the needles again as the men stepped closer. “Well… my enemies call me Fighting Fang. While my friends call me Toga.”

He put it to the humans to decide; friend or foe.

“Will this needle pierce your skin?”

Twerking up a brow, he eyed the man carefully. “Yeah…”

“Good. Dr. Yosh?”

The boss gestured to the skinny one (a Dr. Yosh it would seem) and he stepped up to the glass. Pressing some buttons that Toga could hear and not see, a small hatch in the glass opened up. The cage was just long and deep enough for him to lay down on the raised floor. Miya would bitch at him later but unless he wanted to break out of this cage without any idea how much these humans knew about them, then he would have to _let_ them take his blood. 

Just as he said it would, the needle broke through his skin and allowed them to take his blood. Toga wasn’t impervious (hence the need for his armor) he just healed quickly. So quick that most wounds were similar to the needle under his skin like a pinprick. Right now, Toga wasn’t sure which was more annoying. A shot to his gut or the Prick smirking at him. 

“Guess you’ll be calling me Fighting Fang then.” He spoke as calmly as possible to the man in charge as they stared one another down.

“Is that a threat?” Dr. Setsuna asked.

“No. I just don’t like you.”

The jerk laughed and took a small vial of Toga’s blood. “Like I care.”

He had spoken softly as if he didn’t know Toga could hear him. When Dr. Prick looked over his shoulder back at him, he was clearly gaging to see if Toga had heard him. Resisting the urge to flip him the bird, Toga remained as if he had heard nothing. The point was to learn what they knew; not give them more information. 

Maybe he could steal his blood back on the way out? He also wasn’t sure how much it mattered; he and Miya had watched them collect samples of Snowflake’s blood she left behind that night. What was some more blood for them to play with?

oOo

“Dr. Hime? You’re still here?”

One of Takemaru’s lab partners stood in the doorway of her lab. She wasn’t leaving until they did. And even then, she was going to take a peek at whatever they were working on. “Yes, of course.”

“Dr. Setsuna has another sample for you to examine.”

More blood. Was there a point to studying this one or would he simply tell her not to worry about it a few hours from now? Izayoi took it regardless. It was a piece of the puzzle and she hoped it would help her understand the samples she had already. 

Extraction, Quantification, then Amplification. Steps she had run so many times in her life that it was muscle memory. It was how she knew she hadn’t made a mistake when again, animal DNA was present with the strange markers that even she couldn’t identify. This time it was canine DNA. 

Was this some kind of joke? Was Takemaru messing with her and wasting her time?! Fuming, she left her lab and stormed over to the one across the hall. The lab assistants were still in a tisy with excitement and all Izayoi could think was that they should have their coffee privileges revoked. 

“Dr. Setsuna!” 

He turned and smirked at her as she stomped over to him. “Dr. Hime, you’re still here?”

Like she was going anywhere with all this bullshit going on. “Yes.” She answered with a hiss of irritation.

“Well then. Since you’re so… insistent, I suppose you can get a peek at our new project.”

She hadn’t expected it to be this easy. Takemaru was bragging and it only made her feel sick as he placed a hand on her shoulder to guide her around. A sickness that grew when she spotted the man that had entered through the loading bay was now in a cell. A cell that wasn’t constructed hastily; it had been there long before the man showed up.

And there was more than one.

The man looked alright, laying out in the cell like it was any other night or as if it were his couch. His eyes found her, and he sat up a little straighter in his box, but it didn’t allow much movement. It was more than enough for her to feel light-headed. 

The blue streaks on his face she saw before. Now in a white t-shirt and pants like a test subject, she saw matching marks on his arms and one peeking from under his shirt on his side. But that wasn’t what had her struggling to breathe. It was his eyes. They were amber. Like crystalized sap that was held up to the sunlight. They glimmered and glowed and stuck to her; as if sticky like sap too.

“Izayoi, this is our new specimen.”

She wanted to glare at Takemaru for his informal tendencies as well as calling a man a specimen. But her eyes refused to leave the strange man. His long, flowing locks didn’t help; he was very handsome. 

Now close, he grinned back at her through the glass and winked. “You can call me Toga.”

Before she had a chance to say a single sound, Takemaru stepped between and started pushing her back. “As you can see, we have a lot to do here and it is already very late.”

“Wait! You can't just lock him up…”

“He volunteered. There is no harm being done here. Now excuse us, Dr. Hime, as we get to work.”

She was shoved back out into the hall and the door was locked behind her. The sound echoed off the walls. 

“Volunteered?” She said to herself. They had no clue she’d been there when they ushered the man in with cuffs on his wrists. 

Izayoi hated lies.

Busying herself with blood samples and other tissues from other cases sent her way; Izayoi bided her time until the sounds of others in the hallway came to her door. It was one am and those bastards were finally leaving. The locks on the door clicked loudly and Takemaru followed behind the others; leaving last. She waited a beat to make sure no one was coming back and rushed to the other end of the hall. There were video cameras in her lab but that was due to the nature of her work. Many of her cases involved criminal activity so she never questioned the need for her and her assistants to be watched. Izayoi had to hope it was a different story for Takemaru’s lab. But with them imprisoning people she had little doubt they were filming in his lab.

Her ID/access card in hand, she swiftly ran it through the reader; not surprised in the least when she was denied access. Glancing around her twice (making sure she was really alone) she pulled out another ID card. Takemaru was so full of himself that he had a bad habit of leaving his card in the break room. Izayoi had intended to give it back to him but after two weeks of his patronizing ways and his ease with getting a new one, she didn’t feel the need to be so… helpful. Instead, she helped herself. 

Takemaru didn’t even cancel the card. How is it an idiot like him got promoted over her? She rolled her eyes at the thought; she lacked an important piece of anatomy and that was it.

Slowly, Izayoi made her way to the back of the large lab; looking for cameras as she went. Not in sight of the ‘cage’ yet and already the man somehow knew she was there. “What are you doing here so late?” Taking the last few steps, she revealed herself, and the man wasn’t surprised in the least. “Someone as pretty as you shouldn’t be out this late alone.”

“So if I was ugly it would be okay?”

He smirked and gave her a wink. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

His eyes were hypnotic. Maybe that was why he was in here? That didn’t make sense, why would Takemaru care about magnetizing eyes. “I’m not sure you understand the meaning of that proverb…”

“It means that everyone is beautiful to someone. So no, even if I found you unattractive, it still wouldn’t be alright that you were out this late alone.”

Izayoi shook her head. Not because she didn’t like what he had to say but because it was far from the point. “What are you doing here?”

“Me? I’m enjoying this lovely cell. Isn’t that obvious?” He gestured as much as he could to his small surroundings. Which wasn’t much.

“Why?”

He leaned forward until his breath fogged up the glass. “Cause I’m special.”

Art by Kirrtash

At some point, Izayoi had gotten closer too, her hands now on the glass between them. “Why does your blood have canine DNA mixed in?” Her eyes danced from his amber eyes to his blue streaks. “They… would have sanitized you… washed the paint off your face…”

His head tilted to the side at her but then he held up a finger; the long claw on the end of it made her shiver. Then he licked the finger and ran the wet digit right through the middle of the mark on his arm. “Not paint. Just skin.”

“A tattoo?”

“Who would get tattoos like this? On purpose?”

“Same person who donates their body to science while they’re still alive?”

He rested his head against the glass and (although impossible) she swore she felt the heat of his skin through the glass on her fingertips. “You got me there, I guess.” He stared up at her through his lashes, watching her every micromovement. “Izayoi, right?” She nodded. “My friends call me Toga.”

“And those who aren’t so lucky?”

He sat up at that and crossed his arms in defiance. “What are you doing here? You don’t strike me as the type to be into freak shows…”

“I came to… get you out.”

He huffed, a broad grin on his face that made his eyes sparkle. “You don’t even know me. I could be a killer.”

Izayoi considered his words carefully as well as his demeanor. “Two blood samples came to my lab tonight. One that had feline DNA mixed in. It arrived before you did. Then I got another sample of completely different DNA. Which I can assume is yours?” He didn’t nod or react in any way but she continued regardless. “Did you kill the person with feline DNA?”

Toga scrutinized her, studying her face. “I didn’t. But I did get you your blood sample if you know what I mean.”

“You hurt her?”

His smirk returned at the mention of gender. “Clever. And yes. But believe me when I say she deserved it.”

Izayoi couldn’t explain it but she did believe him. He could have been telling her what she wanted to hear though; he was in a cage and at her mercy. “I need to get you out of here now. Before anyone comes back.” She looked at the keypad but there was no card access. You had to know the code. “Any chance you caught the code for this?”

“They didn’t share that sort of thing with me.” She passed him a glare and he chuckled softly. “I did hear the keys. If you press them again, I’ll know which ones are the right ones.”

“If I put in the wrong code it’ll set off an alarm for sure.”

“What if we broke the glass?”

She looked around the lab for something to use. “It’s way too thick, I’m sure. I could maybe try a chair but there’s probably an alarm set to it too…”

Loud squeals filled the air as well as a red flashing light. Izayoi turned back to the glass but it was gone; the large and thick layer was now mostly on the floor in large chunks. And the cell was empty.

“Oops.”

Now she squealed, spinning on her heel to find Toga right behind her, breathing down her neck. “Holy shit!”

His hands went off, showing off his claws again. “Sorry. But I didn’t want you getting in trouble”

Her mind spun as she looked between the man and the broken cell. “Could you get out the whole time?! What the _hell_?!”

“I was just visiting,” he said casually while slipping his hand into hers, “I’m going to need your help getting a few things.”

oOo

His ‘jailbreak’ was a little earlier than he had originally planned. But the Doctor was so damn cute, he couldn’t help himself and was showing off a bit. She also seemed to know the most about him and his people out of all the others in this place. Which wasn’t much.

Her hand felt so small in his and he was trying to focus on not crushing it. She also wasn’t pulling away from him even with his claws. Dr. Izayoi Hime was intriguing, to say the least. And her scent had his other senses in overload. Toga knew better than to get in over his head… for now anyway. He had more important things to worry about, following Izayoi’s scent back to her lab. 

“I’m going to need those blood samples you have.” She shook her head at him and his response (without control) was to pull her closer. Now towering over her, he looked deeply into her fawn-colored eyes. “It’s not safe for you to have them.”

Izayoi’s heart skipped and settled quickly. It was clear she appreciated the honesty. So how honest would he have to be with her now to keep her safe? Because at this point, he was very attached to her and he didn’t just mean their hands. 

“Cameras…” She didn’t point and he felt like an idiot because he could hear them clearly now as they turned. “If I just give you the samples…”

“I get it.” He held up a claw and placed it to her neck carefully so as not to cut so much as a fine hair on it. “Please, get the samples and trash them.” She moved and he followed, keeping close to her while trying to keep watch. The lights were still going crazy and the siren was really getting on his last nerve. “Do you know where they’re keeping my clothes and the weapons I had on me?”

Dr. Hime finished dumping the blood down the sink and then filled the vials with some kind of liquid solution. “I might know.”

They said nothing more while in the room with eyes and ears. Toga kept his wits this time as they entered a room at the far back of the facility. Only to have Izayoi lead them to an elevator. It was the same one they had put him in when he got here and he had counted the floors. They were on floor twenty out of twenty-four. Toga had no clue how many floors were owned by the scientists but now he knew floor twenty and floor sixteen were theirs as Izayoi led them off on the lower floor.

She took his hand again but when he heard the whir of a camera and yanked her back. With one arm around her neck, he felt the situation looked far more threatening for the Doctor. “Sorry about this…” he took a deep whiff of her scent and her soft black hairs tickled his nose, “actually, that’s a lie.”

Her hands were gripping his forearm but they did nothing to hide the small shake she did from his honesty. Nor the thumping her heart did from his closeness. It all made her scent permeate more and she smelt like sweet peach blossoms. 

Izayoi took one hand off him to point. “It’s the room up there but there’s another lock on the door.”

They stumbled up to the door and he pulled it open easily. “Must have forgotten to lock it.”

“The building is on lockdown,” she hissed when he lied to her, “that means everything locks automatically.”

Once out of the hallway, he let her go completely and began to search. “Well, I was right about one thing. You hate liars don’t you?”

She was stunned at the doorway. “Yes.”

“Guess that means you’re not a fan of that Setsuna guy?”

The little huff she did as well as the roll of her eyes was adorable. “He’s my boss.”

In a small locker along the wall, Toga smelled his scent. He popped open the locker like a can of soda and turned back to Izayoi, her eyes wide. “He’s a dick.”

Toga didn’t give a shit about his shirt and slacks, they were replaceable. So the only thing he grabbed was his jacket; the fire rat robes. “We came all the way down here for a worn-out coat?”

He was shoving his arms through it and searching the rest of the space hastily. “Not everything is as it seems.”

“Is that your way of dodging the truth?”

Stopping, he looked back at the perturbed beauty with a grin. “It’s not a lie. I just don’t have the time to explain it more than that.” Izayoi rolled her eyes but no longer seemed pissed. “I have to find my swords.”

“Swords? You go around with swords?! What are you a ninja??!”

Laughter spilled out of him and he causally wrapped an arm around her waist to ‘escort’ her out. “Ninja. I like that.”

Out in the hall again, he held Izayoi tightly to give off a sense of captivity. Toga was certainly taking advantage though, turning her so her curves pressed against him. She had to tilt her head back to look at him; her light browns actually made him shiver when they found his eyes again. “I don’t… I don’t know where your swords are.”

She was whispering and it wasn’t because of the cameras. He was pretty sure they couldn’t hear much over the sirens that continued to irritatingly blare. “That’s okay, we’ll find them together.”

Before she could say anything else, he had the two of them back at the elevator. He was no longer hiding his demon speed; she had already seen his strength a few times. Izayoi looked pale and he felt her go slack in his arms. So he switched to carrying her. Sweeping an arm under her limp legs and lifting her was easy since she didn’t fight him on it. The many floor numbers were before him while Izayoi blacked out in his arms. 

“Alright… if I was a demon sword… where would I be?”

“Demon?” Izayoi murmured.

He doubted she would remember this. As it were, she was likely to think the whole night was all a nightmare. Leaning in, he whispered in her ear. “That’s right, Izayoi. I’m a demon.”

“Demon….”

“A dog demon to be exact. Some call me Fighting Fang while others call me The Great Dog General.”

“Fighting… Fang…?”

She was really out of it, and if her heart and breathing weren’t regulated, Toga would have been concerned. It was all just too much for the sweet Doctor. “Yeah. But as I said before, you should call me Toga.”

He pressed the floor they started on, twenty, and the box lurched. “Toga…”

Izayoi was grabbing his armor tightly in her fist; she was starting to rally. “My friends call me Toga. And you are definitely a friend… at least.”

The elevator was fast and they would be back at her lab soon. And Izayoi was blinking away her confused and overwhelmed sleep. Toga would never be able to explain it other than he felt it was his last chance, his only chance, lifting Izayoi up and gently pressing his lips to hers. It gave him a rush, a shot of adrenaline that had his heart racing and his body tingling. 

Her eyes were wide open when he opened his. She might remember that part but he had no problem with that. “Welcome back.” He smirked.

The ding of the elevator pulled her bright eyes from his and they moved in sync to put her back on her feet. She tried to walk out on her own but he couldn’t stand that; grabbing her and pulling her back like she was in danger. There was nothing to fear, only him. But she didn’t fight him (yet again) as he pressed her to him. 

“What are we doing back here?”

“We aren’t doing anything,” she got his meaning instantly, glaring up at him, “I’m going to find my swords.”

Izayoi shoved him hard. It did nothing but he noted her anger regardless. “There are seconds left until the building will be swarming with cops and other people with guns!”

He huffed. “They really need to work on their response time…”

“It’s the middle of the night and we’ve _never_ had a break-in before.”

“This isn’t a break-in, it’s a breakout.” Gently, he pushed her into her lab. “Stay here and wait for your friends. I’d say I’d see you later but…”

“You’ll never make it.” She said, stepping out of the safety of her lab and up to him.

“I think I’ve proven my abilities tonight. I’ll be fine.”

Her hands shot out and grabbed his arms. It shouldn’t have stopped him but it did. “Toga, listen. You need to leave now or they will keep you forever.”

“Izayoi, I let them bring me here in the first place…”

“And now they know more about you! You don’t think they’ve already set things in motion to make it harder for you?” He really doubted it since Dr. Setsuna had been at many of their battle scenes after the fact, collecting whatever he could, and yet he still put Toga in that pointless cell. “I’ll find your swords and get them to you.”

He twerked a brow up at her in true interest. “You? Won’t that break some code of ethics and go against your personal morals?”

“It would be worse if they locked you up again.” 

She was flushed, her skin hot with embarrassment and he felt a need to touch it; to feel the heat. Brushing the pads of his fingers along her cheeks he soon had her blush against the palm of his hand. Her head tilted back again and he instantly thought about her lips on his. They had been soft and warm. Just a peck, he hadn’t gotten a taste but he imagined she was sweet like her scent. 

But he was also running out of time.

Miya was going to kill him, messing around like this and completely forgetting his mission. But Izayoi was a good distraction, pulling her close and whispering into her face. “Alright, Dr. Hime, I will entrust the return of my swords to you. Listen carefully. You can NOT touch them.”

“How am I supposed to get them if I can’t…”

“Then find them and tell me where they are. I’ll come back and get them. Either way, don’t touch them. It will kill you.”

She was shaking her head but he knew she would listen, pulling her the last few inches to plant his mouth on her forehead. She leaned into it, pressing her skin deeper into him. He had to force himself to let go of her and it was a struggle. One he had never felt before; not for anyone as his muscles strained just to push her back enough to break contact. 

“Thank you, Izayoi.”

He caught the small stumble she did when he released her completely; stepping back and speeding away. There was a window at the end of the hallway and he was at it in a blink of a human eye. Looking back over his shoulder, Izayoi was still watching him; her eyes were wide again and her mouth parted. Toga had to force himself again to keep moving away from her, breaking the glass with ease and leaping out of it. Twenty stories was a bit much, even for a demon, so he had to bounce his way down off the building next to him. Rolling to his feet once he hit the bottom, he dared to look back at the window high above. It was nothing for him to make out all the details of the shattered window and marks he had also left on the side of the building.

So he could make out every detail of Izayoi’s astonished face as she hung dangerously out the shattered glass; watching his every move.


	3. Chapter Three

“Idiot. Fucking stupid, brazen, jackass!” Miya was taking Toga’s ‘slip up’ as well as expected. “Tomfoolery, ridiculous, and stupid!”

“You said stupid twice.”

Miya glared over at Toga while he toweled his wet hair. “The point of letting you get captured was to get information on  _ them, _ not the other way around!”

“I got plenty of info and I even got an informant.”

“Tricking some poor woman into helping you doesn’t count as an informant. And you lost So’unga and Tessiega! What the hell are you going to do about that?!”

Toga grinned and Miya groaned. “I’m going to wait until my informant finds them for me.”

“You realize the amount of danger you’re putting that woman in? And she has no clue either so she doesn’t count as willing in all of this.”

Toga finally felt some guilt. Although all of what Miya said was right on the money, Izayoi not being truly willing that was the only truth he cared about. “Once she gets me my swords, I’ll let her go. Alright?”

Miya wasn’t appeased. “Don’t you think it’ll be far too late by then?”

oOo

She wasn’t really sure where she was but she knew she was still in the building. Izayoi hadn’t had the… ability to leave. After watching Toga jump and survive the ‘expressway’ out of the building she hadn’t felt very well. He had been so fast to that window too. There was more to him and she knew it but her mind was so hazy. When she tried to remember more all she could think about was his shining amber eyes and a warm smile. 

This wasn’t like her; she didn’t get swept up in ridiculous matters like a man’s eyes or smile. She was about the facts and the ones she had… well they didn’t make sense.

Bodies were rushing around her, stepping over her. She was sitting on the floor in the hall just outside her lab. Voices were murmurs in her brain like buzzing bees. She tried to swat them away but they persisted until she was forced onto her feet. In her head, she was playing the moments with Toga over and over again; his strength and speed the main thing she focused on. Which led to her thinking about his muscular figure and strong chin. 

It was then that she slapped herself: hard. The voices cleared and she realized she was in trouble. “What did you do?”

It was a lab assistant from Takemaru’s lab. He was accusing her of wrongdoing. It must be the wide-open door to their lab and their missing test subject. Looking around, she saw that it was all security, cops, and a few low-level scientists and lab assistants. Including the one holding her now very aggressively.

“Excuse me?” She barked, pulling her arm from him as harshly as she could. “That… thing attacked me!”

He looked remorseful and stepped back. While she slipped into her lab. The test tubes were clean; she added ethyl alcohol to them to make sure they were contaminated and unusable. The only thing that remained was Takemaru’s ID card still in her pocket. She moved it from her lab coat pocket to her jeans. Then stripped off her coat and grabbed her purse. She would be expected to give testimonies. Something she should have been figuring out once Toga left instead of trying to figure out Toga. 

Back out in the hall it was even more of a mess than when she left. Takemaru was there now, ranting and raving. Then his eyes landed on her. “Izayoi!” She cringed openly this time but he took no offense. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and Izayoi was both confused and uncomfortable. “I’m so sorry!” He pulled her back but didn’t let go, holding her a short distance. “Did he hurt you?”

Confused, she shook her head at him. But then it hit her. They thought she was a weak little girl. As offensive as it was, she would use it to her advantage. “He… he used me…”

Not once had she been scared of Toga but they expected her to be. But she couldn’t lie; it went against her nature and ethics completely. So she didn’t.

“He used me to find his things…”

“What was he looking for?” A lab assistant asked.

“His coat and his swords.” She realized yet another opportunity. “I thought that was so strange; that he had swords? Is he crazy or something?”

Takemura huffed. “Yes, he is crazy.”

Lie. Toga wasn’t crazy and she had seen that for herself. He was something else. “So there aren’t swords here belonging to him?”

“No,” Takemaru answered quickly, “because they no longer belong to him. They belong to us; to  _ Shikon _ .”

She shivered while the others around nodded. They were all drinking the kool-aid now; speaking of the company they worked for like it was a person or God. But she needed to focus because this was a very important moment that she wouldn’t get again. “It seems dangerous to have something like a weapon on the property.”

Izayoi made sure to add in a small whimper and look as weak as possible. Takemaru started rubbing her shoulders in comfort, falling for it easily. “Have no fear, Izayoi. Only one of them is truly dangerous. I have it locked away. The other one we’re carefully studying.”

Carefully studying? That would mean it was on floor nineteen assuming the sword was made of metal. At least she knew where one was but where the hell was the other one? “What are you doing with the really dangerous one?”

Takemaru smirked and then… patted her on her head. “I’m taking good care of it, Izayoi.” This time, she shook in anger but they took it out of context. “You should go home. Get some rest. Take tomorrow off. Your files on the blood are on the index right?”

She hadn’t put anything on the server yet, thankfully. “No. And he made me destroy the samples.”

A little vein popped up on his forehead and the smile he wore was forced. “He did, did he? We will just have to get more then.”

oOo

It was harder to give Miya the slip than it was to find where Izayoi lived. Her scent was… distinctive. And he had gotten a good whiff while carrying her around. The balcony he sat on now had hints of her scent but he was sure when she turned on the lights inside. 

Three days had passed since he last saw her and even he had to admit that he missed her. Which was strange since he didn’t know her well. She was a stickler for the facts (her notes told him that) and he could tell by her scent and face that she not only knew when she was being lied to but that she  _ hated _ when anyone did. 

That was good since he couldn’t lie to her.

She had a small bag with her (from the store) that she was emptying into her fridge. Toga watched for a few more seconds before knocking on the glass between them. Izayoi jumped slightly as she turned. The calm that fell over her when she caught sight of him had him feeling warm in his chest. And the way she rushed to let him in made his heart jump; a rare thing for a demon to feel. 

Izayoi was barefoot; leaving her heels at the door. The icy chill of the night washed over her feet as soon as she opened the door for him. That, and worried someone would see him, had her rushing to get him inside. Toga didn’t hesitate, strutting in but she still tugged him hard. He let her pull him in like it was a struggle for him. But even if it wasn’t her home, Toga still would have hurried in to get out of the cold.

Her place was warm but not hot, a perfect representation of the woman. She made him warm enough without the need for heat. Now they were just standing next to the door he’d come through: staring. “How did you find me?”

Stepping away from her, Toga started looking at her place. It was small but homey, a one-room apartment that had a small bed in the corner, a floor table in the middle, and her kitchen in the far corner. “I followed your scent.”

“Oh, ha, ha. Seriously, did you follow me from work?”

“Sort of.”

Izayoi didn’t like that. He shouldn’t be going anywhere near Shikon. Grabbing his hand, she turned him to face her and Izayoi noted that he let her. “You should stay away from there.” The smirk he wore made her chest feel tight. Memories of him jumping from the window flashed in her head. She shook them away quickly but didn’t look at him again, turning towards her couch in the corner instead. “What are you doing here? I haven’t gotten your swords yet…”

“I know. I came to check on you.”

She huffed sadly, trying to go to her kitchen but was stopped by something. “Is that your job? Checking on the people researching you?”

Izayoi tried to walk away from him, but he still had her hand in his. She tugged to a stop when he didn’t let her leave and then looked back at their hands like she forgot she had grabbed him first. “No,” her eyes jumped up to his face, “it’s not my job. I came because I wanted to.” Her eyes went wide and he was drowning in them. So he forced a painful laugh out of his tight chest. “Had to sneak out, actually.”

“Sneak out? You have a keeper or something?”

“Something like that.”

He was being vague and it was on purpose. “Did you have to sneak away from your wife?”

This time, his laugh was pained because he choked on it from her unexpected question. “No. Although, Miya acts like a ball and chain sometimes.”

“Miya?”

This time, he tugged on her, pulling her back the short distance she had gotten away. “I shouldn’t discuss others with you. Okay? I don’t mind telling you about myself but without their permission, I shouldn’t tell you anything about them. Understand?”

Izayoi nodded numbly, staring up at him with her eyes wide again. Toga found he couldn’t stop himself; lifting a hand to brush gently across her cheek. It was warm to the touch which matched the pink color it had. He pretended to sweep a stray hair behind her ear but Izayoi knew there was nothing there. He was just touching her. 

She cleared her throat and dropped her head. Effectively breaking the spell on herself but not Toga as he continued to stay near to her; following close behind her as she went to her kitchen. “Would you… like some tea?”

He didn’t really drink the stuff but Izayoi was nervous and wanted something to do with her hands. And it would be nice to drink something hot. “Sure. Thanks.”

Toga stayed near as she filled her kettle and set it on the heat. Izayoi grabbed mugs and tea bags while he watched intently. It was good to have something else to focus on besides his eyes; it had her wits back. “So… you never told me… why are you here?”

In a flash, Toga dug into the front of his red jacket and pulled out a small bundle of files. “I thought you might like these back. I added a few things for you.”

She took them carefully and folded them into herself. “You came here to give me back my files?”

“And some notes of my own!” He added, defensively. 

“Thanks,” she responded curtly, holding up the files to wave.

It was a nice gesture and would save her some grief since she had been wanting to study her findings more. But it didn’t tell her more about what Toga was and it didn’t quell the little voice in her head that said ‘he came here to see me’. The voice had been loud at the time. Now it was like a sad whisper.

A nice gesture and yet she felt so… offended. 

“You can’t just tell me what I want to know? What did you write anyway?” She said, abruptly opening the returned files and searching for his ‘notes’. Reading for a few moments, she slapped them shut and shoved them back into his hands. “Funny.”

“What?”

Now she was angry. Toga showed up to mess with her. “You wrote ‘cat demon’ next to my blood results. That’s… hilarious, let me tell you.”

“Izayoi…” He stepped up to her and she turned her back on him. It didn’t stop him, looming over her from behind and still having such an overwhelming presence. “I haven’t lied to you once.”

He hadn’t, she was sure of it. But this was different. It felt like a joke. The whistling kettle was her reprieve and she took it. Toga didn’t let up, his breath puffing over her shoulder and down her back. Izayoi took the loud kettle off the heat and didn’t move again, letting him press into her. He ran a hand over her shoulder and stopped at her bicep.

“Izayoi…” She closed her eyes with her name on his lips. He grabbed her arm and turned her slowly to face him; she kept her eyes closed. “I’m not supposed to tell you… anything. It’s… dangerous for you to know…”

_ “But I want to know you…” _ she thought but didn’t dare say out loud.

“Then open your eyes and I’ll show you everything.”

Izayoi didn’t question it, assuming that he read her thoughts off her face or some other telling way and opened her eyes. Toga’s eyes were no longer a soft and comforting amber. Instead, they were a raging red. It startled her, sucking in a sharp breath only to have the red disappear as quickly as it appeared. The scientist grabbed his face, placing a thumb on his cheek and pulling down the skin to look closer at his eye. The demon grabbed her waist and wrapped his arms around her. 

She ran her thumb across the purple skin on his cheek. It felt like regular skin; not raised and rough like a tattoo. And it wasn’t faded at all like a tattoo that was healed enough to have no difference in the skin. It was his skin; the color was something he was born with.

“You’re a…” Izayoi started but he stopped her by kissing her, bending down swiftly to shut her mouth with his. She responded instantly by twisting her head to the side and letting him slide his tongue in her mouth. He really just wanted to keep her from saying it out loud but he’d be lying if Toga said that was the only reason. Izayoi had this inexplicable flavor to her; just like her scent, he couldn’t define it. 

This was all just to shut her up but Izayoi still felt her mind, body, and heart open to Toga. It was why she let him brush his tongue across her lips and why she responded by licking his fangs. His FANGS! Toga had razor-sharp teeth in his mouth. And his hands were pressed into her spine, bending her back. 

He suddenly twisted them, spinning them away from the stove before Izayoi got burned. But he kept walking her backward, unable to stop once he started. She stumbled a few times, causing their mouths to break apart. A few seconds at a time, Izayoi kept coming back to his lips for more. Even when they fell to her couch; Toga fell heavily on her without worry. 

Toga was between her legs and his hand slid up her shirt. Just as she was thinking how rough his jacket was on her skin, his hand left her and unzipped it; flinging it across the room soon enough. She had her hands threaded in his hair but with the removal of his jacket, she snuck her hands down and pressed them into his lower back. It pushed up his shirt and she found his skin. He was doing similarly, running his fingers along her ribs while she sucked on his lower lip.

_ “Toga…” _ He jumped back when she said his name in her head. Izayoi had moaned it in her mind and it drove him crazy. All of it had; her scent, taste, and the way she felt under him and his touch. Toga was out of control and he needed to get a hold of himself.

Without understanding, Toga was now a short distance from her instead of on top of her. He was pacing as he pulled his jacket back on. Her files were all over the floor from where they were dropped in a daze. Izayoi was still in a daze, her lips burning from the cool air of the room that now hit them. 

Toga quickly scooped up the files and dropped them on Izayoi’s lap. “Read my notes. I’ll be back.”

“For… your swords?”

“Yeah.” He dashed away after that. It wasn’t a lie, he would be back and he would be coming for his swords. But it was so much more than that. Toga just wasn’t sure Izayoi understood that.

She sat on her couch putting her cold fingers to her hot lips; wondering if she was now a means to an end for Toga. Pulling open the file on top, she read over his notes. His handwriting was scratchy and manly. Izayoi instantly shook her head for having such a silly thought and read on. He had marked the indicators in her results, ones that she didn’t understand before, and labeled them as ‘demon’. It was crazy and yet it all made complete sense. 

Izayoi knew Toga wasn’t lying to her. He never had. So now she had to wrap her mind around it all including how she had just made out with a demon.

oOo

He hadn’t gotten far from Izayoi’s place when he smelled her. She wasn’t trying to hide; that much was clear. If she wanted to be known then he would just address her, stopping mid ‘flight’ and dropping to the ground from the light posts he had been using. It was the best way to travel; the light blocked him from sight and he could get from place to place much faster without worrying about exposure. It only worked at night but it was better than walking.

“To what do I owe the  _ pleasure,  _ MiLady?”

She stepped out from the poorly concealed spot she had been in and pursed her lips in irritation. “What are you doing, Fighting Fang?”

“I’m just out for a walk…”

“Don’t play me! What are you doing with that human?!” She roared.

Great, she’d been following him. “That’s none of your business anymore. What with us divorced and you sending your goos after me? I’m not inclined to divulge such personal information…”

“Did you tell her about us?”

“No.”

She scoffed. “Of course you did. You and your love for humans…”

“I didn’t tell her shit, MiLady and you need to stay away from her. Unless you want her to figure out more about your kind?”

MiLady’s lips pursed together again, aging her as only Toga could. “My kind is the same as yours. You just forgot. You and I are one and the same, Toga…”

“No, I’m nothing like you or your minions. I believe we can co-exist…”

“Humans are meant to be our slaves, not our equals! When will you get that!”

The vein on the side of her jaw was twitching. Something that happened when MiLady was really pissed. Toga was used to it. “If they’re meant to be your slaves then why do you hide from them?” She was silent and he laughed. “Can’t be your slaves if you’re terrified of them!”   


“The less they know the better. You used to agree to this fact!”

“And I still do. Which is why I didn’t say a word to Dr. Hime about who or what we are.” He needed her to believe him. It was true, he didn’t say anything to Izayoi. The last thing he wanted was to put a target on the doctor’s back… again. The humans she worked with weren’t a problem but MiLady? She would terrorize Izayoi for sport. “MiLady, if you mess with her, she is just going to use it in her research and figure out everything.”

“All the more reason to erase her from existence.” MiLady threatened.

Nothing more was said. If he fought her on it, MiLady was liking to figure out his attachment. If she hadn’t already. She flicked her fingers across her Miedo Stone and disappeared. Not that he hated the idea but now he would have to keep a close watch on Izayoi. 

Oh, the things he did for the sake of humanity.


End file.
